Cause I Sez So is that difficult milestone in a band’s career: the follow-up to a successful comeback album. One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This, the prior platter from the resurrected NEW YORK DOLLS, was a fine return, capturing the original band’s spirit while displaying the maturity that inevitably occurs with age. Cause I Sez So is, all things considered, even better – the writing sharper, the vision more expansive, the performances more assured. The quintet moves into areas not previously associated with proto-punk legends, like the melodic folk rock of “Better Than You” and “Making Rain” and the Latin balladry of “Temptation to Exist.” The group also shows a sure touch with dramatic midtempo tunes like the downcast “Drowning” and the devotional “My World.” Of course, the Dolls continue to do what they do best, delving into their R&B roots with the soulful “Lonely So Long” and the funky “Nobody Got No Bizness,” and kicking out their fiercest jams since their comeback with “Muddy Bones,” the defiant “Exorcism of Despair” and the title track. Not everything is gold – “This is Ridiculous” wastes a good blues tune on lyrics that take the title to heart a little too closely, and the reggae recasting of “Trash” is pointless. But those are minor blips on the radar. Cause I Sez So is the work of a still vital band, and proof that the New York Dolls have left nostalgia far behind.
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